Items tagged with Blizzard

Like many MMORPGs, World of Warcraft can be a grind. To sidestep the time commitment required to continually level up a character, gather resources, improve skills, or whatever else is desired, some gamers turn to bots, software that automates the process. The only problem is, Activision Blizzard isn't so keen on this behavior and has dropped the ban hammer hard on gamers who've been using them. Activision Blizzard didn't specify exactly how many people it booted, saying only that it was a "large number of World of Warcraft accounts." However, a screenshot of a conversation between a player, Game...Read more...

Blizzard appears to have ended access to its games in Crimea, effectively blocking gamers there from playing Diablo III, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and other blizzard games. It’s just one of several U.S. companies that have exited the region recently. Others include Apple and Blizzard’s competitor, Valve. “You are receiving this email because, in accordance with current trade regulations relating to the region of Crimea, we are legally required to suspend access to your Battle.net account,” states a letter that appears to be from Blizzard, translated by Geektimes.ru. “Any recurring subscription...Read more...

It's not like Blizzard to show up at its annual Blizzcon convention without a big announcement in hand, and this year is no exception. The big announcement this time around is Overwatch, a new team-based mulitplayer shooter that has the web at large making inevitable comparisons to Team Fortress 2. And with good reason, because one look at any of the screenshots or one of the gameplay trailers is all it takes to come to that conclusion. We're not saying that's a bad thing, and in fact we're rather excited about Overwatch, in part because this is Blizzard's first new franchise in 17 years. Yes,...Read more...

As Blizzard gets ready to release its Warlords of Draenor expansion pack for its highly popular World of Warcraft MMORPG, you might find yourself wondering if your PC will even be able to run it. After all, it's going to introduce higher levels of detail, updated animations, lots of new visuals, and new and improved character models. So, should you fret about your hardware? Blizzard released minimum and recommended system requirements for the expansion pack, and quite frankly, none are all that demanding, though you do need a relatively modern system to satisfy the recommended specs. Let's have...Read more...

When it comes to lucrative game franchises two of the most well-known ones happen to be Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Activision publishes the CoD franchise while Take-Two Interactive is responsible for publishing GTA. However, there are rumors floating around that Activision might be trying to purchase Take-Two. Speculation began when a research note from Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey talked about “an emerging romance” between both companies. Hickey said, “For Activision, acquiring Take-Two Interactive would be a no-brainer, in our view, circling some of the strongest development...Read more...

Lizard Squad has been on a DDoS attack rampage for the past couple of weeks with Sony’s PlayStation Network, Blizzard’s Battle.net, League of Legends, and NCSoft all succumbing to its attacks with Twitch being its latest target. However, it appears that Lizard Squad’s activities may be curtailed if reports are true. The FBI has been hunting down the person, or persons, responsible not only for the DDoS attack but the grounding of a plane when the group tweeted a false bomb threat as well. The group came into the spotlight by claiming responsibility on its Twitter account and announcing...Read more...

The group known as Lizard Squad has certainly been busy. Since last week, the group has taken down multiple MMO companies and various networks that include Sony’s PlayStation Network and Blizzard’s Battle.net. Now Twitch can be added in the long list of targets the group has brought down with its DDoS attacks. The DDoS attacks came the day after it was announced that Amazon had purchased Twitch for $970 million (Twitch is back up). On Tuesday, the day after the announcement, the servers went offline, preventing everyone from watching or streaming. Lizard Squad announced their attack...Read more...

During the weekend the gaming industry has been suffering from a barrage of DDoS attacks. Blizzard’s Battle.net, League of Legends, and Sony’s PlayStation Network are just some of the games and services that have experienced unexpected downtime. However, it appears one hacker group is claiming responsibility for all of these attacks and more. A group called Lizard Squad has been claiming responsibility for bringing down Battle.net, League of Legends, NCSoft, and Sony’s PlayStation Network over the past week on its Twitter account. As of the posting of this article, the organization...Read more...

While World of Warcraft’s subscription numbers have dropped to 6.8 million players, Blizzard shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Blizzard announced that World of Warcraft’s next expansion, Warlords of Draenor, will launch on November 13. The news was revealed at a world premiere event today in Los Angeles. During the event, the opening cinematic scene for Warlords of Draenor was shown that revealed some well-known characters from Warcraft lore, such as Garrosh Hellscream, and the formation of the Iron Horde that is bent on conquering everything in its path. Warlords of Draenor...Read more...

When Blizzard released World of Warcraft in 2004, the MMO world didn't know what was about to hit it. At the time of the game's release, I played two different MMOs, and post-WoW launch, I was amazed at the number of people who abandoned those games in favor of Blizzard's new hotness. In fact, in many ways, WoW caused the death of many an MMO. It's not just the fact that WoW was a good MMO; it was seriously accessible, and once most of your MMO-playing friends are in there, it's hard to break free. Well, it appears that free-to-play MMOs have been having the same effect on WoW that it...Read more...

If there's one price nobody can argue with, it's "free!" Not freemium or free with in-game purchases available, just straight-up free, no strings attached. Such is what you'll pay for a trio of classic titles Blizzard has decided to make available to the public. These are truly classic games that deserve a fist-bump if you played them when they first came out. Joining Blackthorne, a 1994 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) title that Blizzard made available for free on Battle.net last November, are The Lost Vikings and Rock N' Roll Racing. Starting with the former, The Lost Vikings was originally...Read more...

In about six weeks, Blizzard will launch Reaper of Souls, the first expansion pack for Diablo 3. I've spent the last few weeks playing in the beta for RoS, and while I normally hold an article this extensive for a launch, there's enough locked-in differences to be worth discussing at this stage. This new expansion comes with the usual slew of goodies -- a new Act for the game, new quests, a new enchanting ability, and a new skill for each existing class, as well as a new Crusader class to experiment with. All of this falls into the "expected" category. What's more important about Reaper of Souls...Read more...

In about six weeks, Blizzard will launch Reaper of Souls, the first expansion pack for Diablo 3. I've spent the last few weeks playing in the beta for RoS, and while I normally hold an article this extensive for a launch, there's enough locked-in differences to be worth discussing at this stage. This new expansion comes with the usual slew of goodies -- a new Act for the game, new quests, a new enchanting ability, and a new skill for each existing class, as well as a new Crusader class to experiment with. The ancient city of Westmarch: Location of Act V All of this falls into the "expected"...Read more...

Blizzard has released a powerful new suite of tools for Starcraft 2 modders and developers that fundamentally change the nature of what's possible in the popular RTS game. Now, players can use the same architectural and graphics design toolsets that Blizzard has used internally to build new units, tilesets, and models. Furthermore, these tools are now available even with the Starcraft 2: Starter Edition kit. Players can grab them here. Critically, artists will now be able to incorporate images and effects designed in programs like 3ds Max, Photoshop, or other high-end particle systems. “These...Read more...